Politics: Concerning Race

An open statement to many of my relatives and others in Metro Detroit who share their views:

I'm originally from a working class suburb that borders Detroit, and due to our low taxes and affordable housing, our city is becoming a magnet for those finding their way out of Detroit. Most of these people are black, and now I am watching as my town becomes a focus of white flight. Houses are up for sale on every block, and my neighbors can tell you how many black people have moved onto our street and the adjacent streets as well. I am so sick and tired of hearing "I'm not racist or anything, but you know 'they' [black people] do bring down our home values, and it just would be silly for me to stay", and I'm exhausted from trying to form a logical argument to counter this seemingly sensical statement. Most of the time I get the same response, "You're still young - you'll see how things really are soon", or "You didn't see what they did to our old neighborhood in Detroit, back when it was nice [and before tax incentives from the government convinced jobs to leave the city, and a lack of a public transport system left a wave of people unemployed and without money]. I then juxtapose these moments with my recent weekend trips to weddings and graduation parties where I have been driving about 15-20 miles north of my hometown, continuously watching the sprawl stretch on for miles. I'm afraid that people in Metro Detroit are losing the race battle, and I think I'm watching us move farther away from the dreams of the Civil Rights Act. But maybe I'm just pessimistic, or maybe I've read too much Hurricane Katrina coverage on the racial disparities in New Orleans.